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Starved Rock State Park is located midway between Ottawa and LaSalle. The park has more than 2,630 acres that include 18 beautiful canyons and waterfalls. One of the largest Native American encampments, the Grand Village of the Kaskaskia was located near Starved Rock. Fr. Jacques Marquette and Louis Joliet are believed to be the first white men to have set eyes upon the rock. Ren©-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle, built Fort St. Louis on the rock. Legend has it that a band of Illinois Indians starved to death while seeking refuge from its enemies on the rock, hence the name Starved Rock. Starved Rock State Park has remained virtually
unchanged through the years as its history is told through the author's vintage postcards.

For over 100 years, the Palisades Interstate Park has provided a haven for citizens of the New York metropolitan area. The park system was originally formed to prevent quarries from desecrating the majestic lower Palisades cliffs. Few of the founders could have envisioned the growth of the parks, as land purchases multiplied northward up the Hudson River Valley. Now with over 100,000 unspoiled acres, the parks offer myriad outdoor recreational activities and historic sites that attract more visitors than many major national parks.

Branch Brook Park, located in Newark, was America's first county park. The park was established in 1895 as the cornerstone of the Essex County Park System. The vision for Branch Brook Park came in 1867, when Newark park commissioners retained Olmsted, Vaux, and
Company to identify a site for a park in the city. That vision matured into a reality that is now, 140 years later, woven into the urban experience of Newark and its neighboring towns. The significance of
Branch Brook Park has been nationally recognized with its placement on the New Jersey and National Registers of Historic Places. Home to the Newark Cherry Blossom Festival, organized long-distance runs
and bicycle races, picnics, the Chrysanthemum Show, the New Jersey Symphony Under the Stars, boating on the lake, prom pictures, and sports activities from baseball to bocce to soccer and tennis, Branch Brook Park remains a constant source of great beauty.